How can I tell if a local business can afford to advertise?
Short answer
Don't ask about revenue. Google them, look at their building, and ask how many employees, locations and managers they have. Three people usually can't afford bigger packages; nine or more usually can. A marketing director means there's a budget. The best fit is high-ticket, where one new client pays for a year of ads.
Most of your time in local ad sales gets wasted on businesses that were never going to pay. Qualifying them early is how you protect it.
What should I check before I call?
- Google them. Before you call, make sure it seems like a legit business.
- Look up their location. If they have a really nice building, they're spending a ton of money on it, which usually means they have money for marketing.
- Size up the ask. A small, run-down looking business is worth taking for a basic ad, but asking it for $1,000 or $1,500 a month is probably too big.
What questions qualify a business without asking about money?
You don't ask how much money they have. You ask things that get you a reasonable answer anyway.
"How many employees do you have? How many offices do you have? Do you have three locations, or just one, or nine? Do you know how many employees you have? How many managers are there?"
A company with three people probably doesn't have the money for the bigger things we do. A company with nine or more usually does. If a lead says they just want one ad for $150, that's fine, but I don't need to be on that call.
Should I pitch the owner or a marketing director?
A marketing director is a good sign. If a business has someone in charge of marketing, it obviously has a marketing budget, otherwise that person wouldn't exist. And it's not their money.
A founder feels every dollar. A $4,000 or $8,000 annual sponsorship is money that stays in their pocket if they don't buy from you. That's a harder sell.
What makes a business a good fit for my newsletter?
Two checks. First, is it high-ticket? When a concierge company that serves wealthy clients asked about ads, that was good news: if one new client a year pays them a lot, our ads are worth more to them. Second, is it annoying? A decluttering service running 12 ads a year in a newsletter with limited slots might start to grate on readers. Not a deal-breaker, but worth thinking about.
What do I do with the small ones?
Don't let them eat your day. Early on, an "email me to advertise" line brought in a flood of tiny businesses, like a notary, who didn't have any money. It just added work for me.
I replaced it with a form, built in GoHighLevel. Now I can see what each business wants, decide who's worth getting back to, and send the rest to a VA. On cold calls I expect the smaller businesses to like the idea and not have the money for it, and hopefully one call in ten reaches a big one. For who tends to have budgets, see the best advertisers for a local newsletter.
Answered by TJ Larkin. From Local Media HQ podcast conversations, client and partner calls and my own notes, 2024-2026. Last updated .